The present study assessed change in knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported hand-washing practices of 136 food handlers 3 months after providing them health education using posters and interactive sessions using a flip chart. There was a significant change in the proportion of study participants who named food borne or waterborne diseases, including gastroenteritis (79.4% to 91.9%), worm infestation (39.0% to 55.9%), cholera (16.2% to 42.7%), and typhoid (9.6% to 28.7%). Significant increase in knowledge about hand hygiene measures, namely, washing hands before handling food (23.5% to 65.4%) and keeping nails cut and clean (8.1% to 57.4%), was observed. Baseline self-reported hand-washing practices revealed low figures for washing hands after micturition (82.4%) and smoking (52.8%) and consistent use of soap at the workplace (24.3%) and after micturition (14.0%), which improved after health education but not to the desired extent. Findings highlight the importance of providing health education in food and personal hygiene to food handlers and incorporating the same in existing guidelines for food establishments laid down by civic agencies in Delhi and elsewhere.

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The study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of nasal colonization of Staphylococcus aureus in individuals with HIV infection attending the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre in a teaching hospital and compare the prevalence with HIV-uninfected individuals. A case-control study was conducted among newly diagnosed HIV-infected individuals and an equal number of age-group and sex-matched HIV-uninfected individuals, and nasal swabs were collected from both the samples. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through individual interviews. Ethical aspects were respected. A total of 100 individuals participated in the study, and 22 (44%) of the 50 HIV-infected cases were colonized by S aureus, including 19 (86.4%) methicillin-sensitive S aureus (MSSA) and 3 (13.6%) methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA). Only 12 (24%) strains were isolated from 50 HIV-uninfected individuals, with 11 being MSSA and 1 being MRSA. This difference in the isolation rate was statistically significant (P = .035). The 2 most commonly encountered risk factors in both the groups appeared to be history of tuberculosis and history of surgical procedures but none being statistically significant (P = .093 and P = .996). All the strains of S aureus were sensitive to mupirocin. The study concluded that HIV-infected individuals are at a higher risk of carriage as compared to HIV-uninfected individuals. By eliminating carriage in immunocompromised individuals, infections due to S aureus can also be minimized.

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